Secondary Navigation

Re: [PPLetterpress] Re: Adjustments to Font Metrics

Thank you for the advice, Gerald. That s pretty much the way I ve been going. I ve done almost all the capital letters, then I print them out in words on a

Message 1 of 3
, Oct 7, 2004

Thank you for the advice, Gerald. That's pretty much the way
I've been going. I've done almost all the capital letters, then I
print them out in words on a 1200 dpi laser printer. I figured
that once I get the entire font the way I want it on the laser
output, then I can thin it a bit and use it for making PP plates.
I have Fontographer 4.1.

I hope to use it for a "house face." Having matrices cut for it
that I can use on my Thompson caster is a very long range
goal. For the foreseeable future, it'll have to be PP plates.

>
> Ph. D.
>
> Probably the most appropriate way to proceed is to digitize the font at

the weight that seems correct to you, testing this as you go on a
high-resolution laser printer (1200dpi) or preferably, an image setter
(2400dpi).

>
> When you have completed the font you can easily create instances of it

with Fontographer or FontLab in various weights (thicker or thinner). These
instances can serve as a form of cheap and dirty way to size optimize a
font. You can't reduce or expand the weight by much though as the character
outline points will become disturbed.

>
> There is no easy answer to the "how much" question but if the ultimate

goal is to use digitization for creating a metal face, the photopolymer
process will provide a fairly useful testing ground. You should be able to
determine how much expansion will occur as a result of ink gain and
impression and adjust accordingly.

>
> FontLab also allows for interpolation (increasing or decreasing weight and

other glyph attributes) during the post-creation process through its
Transformation feature. I haven't tried it for this purpose but from what I
have seen it might be worth while exploring.

>
> Good luck with it
>
> Gerald
>
>
> > I'm digitizing a font. I recall reading that digital fonts need
> > to be thinned down a bit to allow for ink spread when the
> > font is made into a photopolymer plate. I am assuming the
> > same is true if I have matrices cut for casting regular metal
> > type.
> >
> > My question is, how much should I thin the characters?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Ph. D.

Your message has been successfully submitted and would be delivered to recipients shortly.